Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, was a much loved pet . . . and that apparently proved her demise. Her owner passed about on March 8th in Virginia and Emma was brought to the Chesterfield Animal Shelter. The shelter was then surprised on March 22 when the executor of the estate informed it that the dog was to be handed over because the owner wanted her pet to be euthanized upon her death. The shelter pleaded that it could find many new families for Emma but the dog was taken away to be killed per the request of its owner.
The video below shows a disgusting crime by an Alaskan father and son who killed a hibernating mother bear and her two cubs in their den on Esther Island on Prince William Sound. Last April, Andrew and Owen Renner were captured on tape as they killed the sleeping bears. Andrew, 41, and Owen, 18, are heard shooting the mother first in their den at the base of a tree as the cubs are heard crying out before they then killed by the two poachers.
In the spirit of the works of our late friend and contributor David Drumm, I offer to you a similar challenge. An elusive avian can be found somewhere in this picture. Click on the image to enlarge.
According to the Baltimore Sun, a Maryland man is now under investigation following a disturbing video in which he jumps on a pelican floating in the water in the Florida Keys. Hunter Hardesty of Davidsonville posted the video to his Facebook account and appeared surprised that a wide array of readers condemned his harmful and juvenile conduct.
No, this is not the lead to the new “Snakes on a Plane” cult movie. However, it is a Canadian invasion of sorts. Four Canadian wolves were air-dropped into Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park in Michigan to augment the island’s dwindling wolf population and to control the resulting rising Moose population. That might seem an unfair advantage when the perspective of the moose but the park long had a wonderful balance between the populations of wolves and moose. I have a particularly interest in Isle Royale because I have spent many weeks backpacking around the island when I lived in Chicago.
There is an interesting case out of Opelousas, Louisiana, where Madeline Bourgeois, 67, is charged with shooting her pet llama, Earl. She has claimed self-defense but prosecutors insist that the passage of time between the attack and the shooting negated the defense.
As many on this blog know, I am no fan of trophy hunting. I fail to see why it is impressive or thrilling to shoot a giraffe or elephant with a high-powered rifle. I just do not understand the thrill kill. I feel the same way about shooting grizzly bears, which I have traveled to Alaska to watch in the wild. However, there are many responsible hunters and, while I would not allow hunting grizzly bears, it is lawful in some states. What is not lawful is herding with snowmobiles so some fat cat on a high priced hunting thrill could shoot one. That is what Brian Simpson of Fairbanks, did for Wittrock Outfitters. He is now stripped of his master guide’s license and fined $2,600 in restitution for the killing of two grizzly bears.
“You’re getting sleepy . . . ” may have been the last words of a man in the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka after he tried to hypnotize an elephant. The elephant proceeded to crush the man.
In torts, we learn about animal liability rules governing dogs. While domesticated animals are generally not subject to strict liability, a dog with a vicious character (or one that has previously attacked) does fall under the strict liability standard. However, what about a vicious owner. Police are looking for a woman who attacked a jogger who used pepper spray to fight off her dog. The woman, not the dog, bit the jogger.
Chicago attorney Jerald Jeske, 51, believed that his wife loved her two Chihuahuas more than she loved him. One could certainly understand why she would feel that way after he then proceeded to throw both dogs off their balcony. According to WGN-TV in Chicago reported, one was killed and one survived long enough to run off (and has not been found).